09 juli 2008Suspense and a packed field top the bill for the first meeting in Francorchamps
After two meetings at Circuit Zolder and one in Dijon, this coming weekend the Belgian GT Championship Mediagroep Van Dyck will be competing for the first time on the world’s most beautiful circuit. Two races of one hour each over the weekend will be adding flavour to the 25 Hours VW Fun Cup.
This event is undoubtedly the year’s most popular event, with some tens of thousand spectators. Anyone still looking for an entrance ticket should visit our website www.belgiangt.com to download same. On the programme there are two races of one hour, with the first one being held on Friday evening from 18:30 through to 19:30hrs, with the start of the second race being given at 13:10hrs on Saturday midday . This timing gives all the unfortunates ones on Friday evening the opportunity to prepare themselves well in time for the second race on the Saturday.
For this fourth meeting of the season SRO-Belgium are presenting a packed field, with no less than 20 cars in Division 1, reserved for the GT3s. Together with Division 2 and Division 3 there will be no less than 30 cars on hand.
Our southern neighbours obviously took a liking to the Belgian GTs at Dijon and have promptly found their way into the Belgian GT Championship. Sofrev Autosport Promotion will be entering two Ferrari F430 GT3s for respectively Ricci-Savary and Balthazard-Beaubelique, whilst Exagon / Protonic are preparing a prancing horse for Catherine and Daniel Desbruères. In addition there is the F430 of Chad Racing – they are presently leaving their Lamborghini Gallardo in the stables and interested parties can rent same – which adds up to a total of seven Ferraris.
But without a doubt all eyes will be on the Ferrari of Fred Bouvy and Damien Coens, presently leading the championship. After five competitions these Francorchamps Motors – Delahaye drivers top the rankings and before the upcoming races at Francorchamps are two points ahead of the GPR Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S of Maxime Soulet and Greg Franchi, who after a catastrophic start followed by three consecutive victories are fully back in the running.
Some fourteen points down we find Anthony Kumpen and Bert Longin, who definitely haven’t had their last word. And after the unfortunate meeting at the beginning of June during the 45th Anniversary of Zolder, both Mosler MT 900s of Gravity Racing International (with naturally also Vincent Radermecker and Ron Marchal) will be looking to repeat their double of last year in Spa.
However there are other candidates looking for a good result, with such teams as the A+ Racing Dodge Viper of Jeffrey Van Hooydonk and Robert Dierick, the Ferrari of Vincent Vosse and Eddy Renard, the Lamborghini Gallardo with Tim Verbergt and Danny De Laet (following Patrick Ceusters’ unfortunate accident at work we find him back at the wheel of another Lambo of JD by Astromega teamed up with Henk Haane), the NGT Porsche 997 Cup S with Couwberghs-Maes at the wheel, the Mosler of Guino Kenis – Michael De Keersmaecker as also both ultra regular KRK Racing Dodge Vipers with Koen and Kris Wauters, Raf Vanthoor and Patrick Schreurs. Wauters-Schreurs are presently third in the battle for the championship.
Choice enough should you be looking to place a bet before the start of what should undoubtedly turn out to be highly open races.
In Division 2 we are hoping for a very similar scenario with the leaders Olivier Van Oost and Robin Maes in the Powercars Racing Porsche 996 GT3 Cup, and where we also welcome the return of the Speedlover Aston Martin GT4.
In Division 3 we should be treated to a duel between, on the one hand, the various Porsches, amongst which the leaders in the championship Niels Lagrange and Pascal Nelissen-Grade, and the BMW M3 GTR of the British duo David Shelton and Phil Keen.
Rendezvous this coming Friday and Saturday for two sprint races of one hour each.
